Two Meetings in Westminster on NHS Care in 2003 attended by Jo Brand.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Last update 1740 on Tuesday 10th November 2026

Introduction by Robin Lovelock

It was Saturday 7th November 2026 that, after listening to the BBC 6pm Radio 4 News, I found myself listening to 25 minutes of an interview with that remarkable Grumpy Old Woman, Jo Brand ;-) It reminded me of sitting beside her, near the front, at that first meeting, on the Day of the Iraaq War Vote: Tuesday 18th March 2003. Over the next few days I spent many hours searching things like my online pages and paper desk diaries and found nothing - other than how busy* things were here, with our little GPS Software business, and more important things like the care, then passing away of my mother Eve Lovelock.
* 2003 Busy? See 2003 News from the Lovelock Family .

BUT, when I tried asking questions of Google (Gemini) AI, I was amazed on the detail of the response - including that second meeting that I had forgotton about ! ;-) I was also flattened - sorry flattered - by how it spoke about me ;-) But most of all, I want to give credit to Jo Brand, who I am sure has done good work over many years, "behind the scenes". Thanks Jo ;-) See "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Brand to know more ;-)

Most of this page is based on my editing text from Google AI (Gemini), using a Grumpy Old PC - Windows 7 32 bit ;-)

NHS Care Meeting on 18th March 2003 ...

The meeting held in Westminster on March 18, 2003—the historic day of the British parliamentary vote on the Iraq War—focused on the legality of NHS long-term care funding and the implications of the landmark Coughlan case. [1, 2] The critical details of this briefing include:

Meeting Overview

Subject: Challenging unlawful local funding criteria for long-term care, asserting the public's right to 100% free NHS continuing care rather than means-tested social services billing.

Chair: Paul Burstow, who was then serving as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary (and later Minister of State for Care Services).

Location: Room W1, Westminster (the primary committee and briefing room adjacent to Westminster Hall). [1, 2, 3]

Key Participants & Audience

Robin Lovelock: A primary coordinator of the briefing and founder of the campaign network NHSCare.info, who organized the event to push parliamentarians to recognize that the NHS was legally obligated to cover full nursing home costs for eligible patients under existing UK case law.

Jo Brand: The prominent comedian and former psychiatric nurse attended to support the campaign, drawing upon her professional background in elder care and the NHS to highlight the vulnerabilities of patients in the system.

Parliamentary Presence: The meeting drew several MPs, peers, and healthcare advocates who were in Westminster ahead of the crunch evening votes on the Iraq invasion. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Historical Context

The briefing took place under highly unusual circumstances. Because it was held on the same afternoon that Parliament debated and ultimately approved the military invasion of Iraq, Westminster was entirely consumed by anti-war protests and intense political tension. Despite the massive external distractions of the impending war vote, the event successfully brought together campaigners and politicians to challenge the systemic underfunding and shifting of chronic health costs onto vulnerable families. [1, 2]

NHS Care Meeting on 9th July 2003 ...

The meeting you are referring to was an NHS Continuing Healthcare Campaign presentation held in Room W1 of the House of Commons (Westminster) on July 9, 2002. [1, 2, 3] The presentation focused on NHS Continuing Care funding and highlighted how hundreds of thousands of elderly and vulnerable people were being improperly denied free, long-term NHS care under UK law. [1]

Key Meeting Details

Chair & Parliamentary Sponsor: Paul Burstow, who was then the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam and a prominent campaigner on older people's care (later becoming Care Services Minister). Earlier that year, Burstow had released a high-profile report revealing that 360,000 nursing home residents had been "cheated" out of free NHS care. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Presenters: The briefing was organized by Robin Lovelock and Derek Cole. Inspired by a newspaper clipping of Paul Burstow's work, Lovelock and Cole had recently launched the campaign platform NHSCare.info to fight the systemic withholding of Continuing Care funding following the landmark Coughlan legal ruling. [1, 2]

Audience Attendees:

Jo Brand (the celebrated comedian, writer, and former psychiatric nurse) attended the session to support the cause.

Other prominent figures in attendance included the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke, who sat right next to Jo Brand during the briefing. The audience also consisted of several members of parliament, peers, and health care campaign advocates.

The event served as a major catalyst for the national campaign, which ultimately forced an Ombudsman’s report in 2003 and a formal review of the criteria used by the government to fund long-term care. [1, 2]

Questions to ask Google AI (Gemini) ...

Here is the sort of question that I asked Google AI using the chrome Browser on my Grumpy Old Windows 7 PC:

"details of nhs care meeting in westminster on day of iraq war vote on subject of nhs care chaired by paul burstow in room w1 with audience including jo brand, robin lovelock ?"

WARNING: I see answers to the same question can vary minute to minute, and hour to hour, even they still look OK. Goodness Knows what answers you will get from alternative AI engines, like ChatGPT, or even Google, in these days of business take-overs and change. BUT, I must admit, AI like this certainly saves a lot of time. I hate wasting time ;-)

Maybe this page will get updated - if and when I have the time ;-)

Robin Lovelock in Sunninghill.